Upcoming Events

Snowfighters Institute Webinars: Join us live for monthly webinars built to help snow pros run stronger, more profitable operations. All sessions run 10:00 to 11:00 AM.

Pricing & Estimating Review | Tuesday, July 7, 2026 Are you pricing for profit or just hoping to break even?

Finding & Managing Subcontractors | Tuesday, August 11, 2026 How do you find subcontractors who actually show up when it snows?

Capacity Planning | Tuesday, September 8, 2026 How do you determine your true operational capacity?

Recruiting | Tuesday, October 13, 2026 Why can't you find good people to hire, and what can you do about it?

Incentive Compensation & Rewards | Tuesday, November 10, 2026 Are your bonuses and rewards actually driving the results you want?

Client & Employee Appreciation | Tuesday, December 8, 2026 Are you truly appreciating your clients and employees, or just going through the motions?

See the full webinar list →

In-Person Event

GROW! Snow | September 22 to 23, 2026 An in-person event built for snow leaders and their teams. Two days of snow-specific breakout sessions, a facility tour, and content designed to drive real change at your business. Details coming soon.

Episode #57

Matt Delborrello, Commercial Insurance Consultant with Alera Group and an Accredited Professional in Risk and Insurance, joins Phil to demystify the world of business insurance for snow and ice contractors. From understanding how umbrella liability provides broader protection than raising general liability limits, to why being rated on payroll instead of sales can dramatically lower your premiums, to navigating the excess and surplus marketplace, Matt shares why responsiveness and relationships drive his work, how site selection affects insurability, and what every contractor needs to know before the next slip and fall claim hits.

Key Learnings

Umbrella Liability Beats Raising General Liability Limits - Umbrella coverage isn't auditable like general liability, so it gives you broader protection over auto and employer's liability without driving up your audit exposure.

Sales vs Payroll Rating Changes Everything - Being rated on snow payroll instead of total snow sales gives carriers a more accurate picture of your true exposure and can dramatically lower your premiums.

Guaranteed Cost Contracts Distort Sales Numbers - When clients pay $500,000 whether it snows 2 inches or 200, sales doesn't reflect actual risk exposure, which is why the payroll rating shift matters so much.

Choose Your Clients Wisely - You can run a flawless snow operation, but if your client list is heavy on gas stations and big box retail, insurance carriers may decline to write the account because of slip and fall frequency.

Site Type Matters More Than Industry Label - A local bank and a Walmart are both retail, but they carry completely different risk profiles, so generic application categories without conversation create real problems.

Camera Footage Defends Against Bogus Claims - Forward-facing, rear-facing, and driver-facing cameras give carriers the evidence they need to fight inflated or fraudulent claims rather than just settling them.

You Can Be Involved...

• (00:00:20) - Welcome and Introductions
• (00:01:55) - Inside Alera Group
• (00:05:49) - Insurance 101 for Contractors
• (00:07:47) - Why Umbrella Beats Higher GL Limits
• (00:10:24) - A Day in the Life of an Agent
• (00:14:54) - Why Carriers Don't Get Snow
• (00:20:18) - The Sales vs Payroll Shift
• (00:24:24) - The Clients Carriers Hate
• (00:28:15) - The Bogus Slip and Fall Story
• (00:31:29) - Who Really Decides Your Claim
• (00:38:32) - The Excess and Surplus Trap
• (00:43:16) - One Entity or Two
• (00:45:01) - How to Reach Matt

Upcoming Events

Snowfighters Institute Webinars: Join us live for monthly webinars built to help snow pros run stronger, more profitable operations. All sessions run 10:00 to 11:00 AM.

Contract Review | Tuesday, June 2, 2026 Internal review and update of sales contracts and subcontractor agreements.

Pricing & Estimating Review | Tuesday, July 7, 2026 Are you pricing for profit or just hoping to break even?

Finding & Managing Subcontractors | Tuesday, August 11, 2026 How do you find subcontractors who actually show up when it snows?

Capacity Planning | Tuesday, September 8, 2026 How do you determine your true operational capacity?

Recruiting | Tuesday, October 13, 2026 Why can't you find good people to hire, and what can you do about it?

Incentive Compensation & Rewards | Tuesday, November 10, 2026 Are your bonuses and rewards actually driving the results you want?

Client & Employee Appreciation | Tuesday, December 8, 2026 Are you truly appreciating your clients and employees, or just going through the motions?

See the full webinar list →

In-Person Event

GROW! Snow | September 22 to 23, 2026 An in-person event built for snow leaders and their teams. Two days of snow-specific breakout sessions, a facility tour, and content designed to drive real change at your business. Details coming soon.

Joe and Carla Policastro, co-founders of Cycle CPA, join Phil to discuss why financial clarity is the foundation of a healthy snow and landscape business. From managing the cash flow challenges of seasonal work, to benchmarking your numbers against industry peers, to why your bank balance only tells part of the story, this husband and wife team shares how proactive accounting and advisory work help contractors make confident decisions instead of operating on gut feel. They also open up about the personal journeys that drive their mission to serve hardworking business owners in the green and snow industries.

Key Learnings

Your Bank Balance Is Only Part of the Picture - Checking your account daily tells you what you have right now, but future cash flow forecasting shows you what is coming and what to watch out for.

Seasonal Businesses Must Build Cash Reserves - Snow and landscape operations need enough cash saved during busy months to carry them through slow seasons and economic downturns.

Get Your Numbers Fast to Decide Fast - The earlier you receive accurate monthly financials, the quicker you can make confident business decisions.

Benchmark Against Industry Peers, Not Just Last Year - Comparing your numbers to industry averages reveals problems like labor costs running higher than competitors, pointing you toward what needs fixing.

Make Decisions on Data, Not Gut Feel - Business owners without timely, accurate information are operating in the dark, while knowing your numbers lets you plan the future with confidence.

Track Labor Hours Against Each Job - In a labor-intensive industry, knowing how many hours are budgeted toward a specific job and tracking time against it is critical to protecting your margins.

Outsource What...

• (00:00:00) - Start
• (00:00:20) - Welcome and Intro
• (00:01:59) - Why Most Owners Avoid the Books
• (00:03:55) - The Seasonal Cash Flow Trap
• (00:08:27) - How Cycle CPA Got Started
• (00:12:46) - Packages and the Numbers That Matter
• (00:16:23) - Building a Remote Team of 30
• (00:19:17) - Splitting the Work as a Couple
• (00:22:35) - Why Carla Chose Landscapers
• (00:24:59) - An Immigrant’s Resilience
• (00:27:07) - Joe’s Story: Angela’s House
• (00:32:07) - Who They Serve Best
• (00:35:56) - What Actually Sets Them Apart
• (00:38:12) - Making Your Software Talk
• (00:41:20) - Learn More About Cycle CPA
• (00:43:17) - Final Advice for Contractors

Upcoming Events

Snowfighters Institute Webinars: Join us live for monthly webinars built to help snow pros run stronger, more profitable operations. All sessions run 10:00 to 11:00 AM.

Contract Review | Tuesday, June 2, 2026 Internal review and update of sales contracts and subcontractor agreements.

Pricing & Estimating Review | Tuesday, July 7, 2026 Are you pricing for profit or just hoping to break even?

Finding & Managing Subcontractors | Tuesday, August 11, 2026 How do you find subcontractors who actually show up when it snows?

Capacity Planning | Tuesday, September 8, 2026 How do you determine your true operational capacity?

Recruiting | Tuesday, October 13, 2026 Why can't you find good people to hire, and what can you do about it?

Incentive Compensation & Rewards | Tuesday, November 10, 2026 Are your bonuses and rewards actually driving the results you want?

Client & Employee Appreciation | Tuesday, December 8, 2026 Are you truly appreciating your clients and employees, or just going through the motions?

See the full webinar list →

In-Person Event

GROW! Snow | September 22 to 23, 2026 An in-person event built for snow leaders and their teams. Two days of snow-specific breakout sessions, a facility tour, and content designed to drive real change at your business. Details coming soon.

This week's episode is a little different. Phil Harwood joins Marty Grunder on The Grow Show to discuss the strategic partnership between Snow Fighters Institute and The Grow Group, share his 40 years of industry experience, and explain why snow removal can be the most profitable part of a service business. From his early days running printing equipment in the family business to his current role as a consultant and attorney, Phil reveals the leadership principles that have served him throughout his career, the trends shaping the future of snow operations, and why building a sellable business benefits every owner regardless of exit plans.

Key Learnings

Snow Fighting Is Emergency Service Work - Snow removal is comparable to firefighting because crews are on call all winter and must drop everything when activity starts, requiring a mindset that embraces the calling rather than resenting it.

Find Companies That Love Snow - The best operators love snow not because they enjoy leaving their families for three days, but because they understand they're providing valuable emergency services that make a real difference.

Degrees Don't Equal Smartness or Success - Education provides knowledge, but you have to apply what you learned and surround yourself with smart people to actually succeed in business.

Outsiders Get Heard More Than Insiders - The same advice from an internal team member often gets ignored but is celebrated when delivered by an objective outside consultant with no skin in the game.

Do What You Say You're Going to Do - The basics like answering your phone, being respectful, and following through on commitments sound like cliches but remain the foundation of successful business relationships.

Be Great at What You Want Your Team to Be Good At - Leaders are always being...

• (00:00:00) - Start
• (00:02:00) - Strategic Partnership - Snowfighters + Grow Group
• (00:02:30) - Snowfighters Origins
• (00:04:54) - Why Your “Why” Matters
• (00:07:01) - From Family Business to Consulting
• (00:09:24) - Why Law School at This Point
• (00:10:20) - The Atrium Disaster
• (00:12:26) - When Core Values Backfire
• (00:13:57) - The Leap to Consulting
• (00:15:37) - Why Outsiders Get Heard
• (00:17:01) - The Basics Nobody Do
• (00:18:08) - Be the Example
• (00:23:06) - Tech That’s Changing Snow
• (00:26:05) - You’re the Hero at Night
• (00:27:05) - Build a Business You Can Sell
• (00:28:41) - Why Snow Wins on Profit